He told cambridge-united.co.uk: “I’m absolutely delighted and I have loved every minute of my time at Cambridge United. Hopefully it is a great start for plenty more fond days to come.

“During my two months here we have all worked very closely, right through from the coaching staff, the players, the administration team, the board and the fans. We are all behind each other and so the award is for everybody.”

Cambridge's weekend opponents Crawley aren't far behind, and if they can clinch a seventh home win in eight then they will trail United by just two points.

They too suffered defeat in their opening fixture of the year - that being a 3-0 loss at Fratton Park as Portsmouth continued their rich vein of form.

There are three other fixtures in Sky Bet League 2 this weekend (Saturday 9th January, 3pm):